fophelia1331

adjective

tan·​gen·​tial tan-ˈjen(t)-shəl

1. Touching lightly; incidental, peripheral. Divergent, digressive. Also, of little relevance.

Arguments tangential to the main point.

 

2. Of, relating to, or of the nature of a tangent.

Bonus info:

Tangential Has Mathematical Roots

In geometry, a tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at a single point. So we say that someone who starts talking about one thing and gets sidetracked has gone off on a tangent. The new subject is tangential to the first subject—it touches it and moves off in a different direction.

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 2

From Merriam-Webster, where they have a pretty neat 3-question quiz on the words now. It looks like a great reading comprehension exercise. I love those.